The present invention relates to paintball markers, also referred to as paintball guns, which are arranged to fire pellets or capsules filled with paint or dye, and are used in paintball games or competitions.
The use of paintball markers differs from the use of real guns. This is partly because the markers are held in different positions from real guns, and indeed may be held in a number of different positions by a single user during a single game or competition. It is also partly because of regulations which determine certain aspects of the firing operation of the markers. In particular paintball markers are generally arranged such that they will only fire one pellet each time that the trigger is depressed. It is therefore desirable to arrange the marker and the trigger so that the trigger can be operated easily, and rapidly, with the marker in a number of different positions. This has lead to the increasing use of two-finger triggers which can be operated by the index and middle fingers of the trigger hand alternately at high speeds so as to achieve a high firing rate. Furthermore, paintball markers are often held in a position close to the user's face so that the trigger hand tends to pull downwards on the trigger rather than backwards. However, for most other positions in which the marker can be held, the trigger is pulled backwards rather than downwards, and it is this type of operation which has determined the design of conventional triggers. The triggers of conventional paintball markers can therefore be difficult or uncomfortable to use in the raised position close to the user's face.